If there was any doubt that Colorado’s medical marijuana law needs greater clarity and definition, a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling issued this week blew that equivocation away.

The court said a medical marijuana “caregiver” must be more than a grower, and also points out that under the current legal framework, growers have no legal way of providing medicinal pot to caregivers and patients.

What a mess.

State lawmakers need to create a regulatory structure that allows controlled marijuana production, regulates product quality and injects oversight into the process of designating those eligible to use medical marijuana and dispense it.

We also hope lawmakers will consider a fee structure that will recoup any government expenses incurred in creating a sensible framework.

Such a comprehensive effort, we think, will negate the need that some local governments are citing in coming up with their own regulations that are often too strict.

While some local rules are fine and even preferable in order to tailor operations to fit communities, a uniform and broad set of rules that fills in the blanks in how medical marijuana is produced, used and dispensed is preferable to a patchwork of potentially conflicting rules.

We hope the legislature takes on such an effort when it reconvenes in January and keeps in mind the intent of Amendment 20, which was passed by voters in 2000.

One of the broader problems, we think, is that Amendment 20 wasn’t written to accommodate the explosion in medical marijuana use that has occurred, particularly in recent months. Frankly, we question whether the plethora of young people citing “severe pain” really are as anguished as they say, or if the real goal is to find a legal way to smoke pot.

While we favor marijuana legalization, Colorado voters did not cast ballots approving the legalization of marijuana. They voted to provide people with severe, unrelenting pain and illness an possible avenue of relief.

Legislators should not allow this vote of compassion to be twisted into something else. Some in the legislature have expressed hesitation in taking on the medical marijuana issue. We believe it is their duty to clarify and get a handle on the situation before it gets out of control.

Already, hundreds of Coloradans are applying for medical marijuana cards each day, and the number of dispensaries is growing rapidly.

People are concerned about the trade sprouting in their communities.

The legislature needs to give government the power to license, track and regulate dispensaries. There must be a provision for the legal production of medical marijuana.

There is no doubt that such regulation will spark a big, rancorous debate, but it’s incumbent upon state legislators to take on this task and come up with sensible regulations that match voters’ intent.